Predicted no-effect concentrations for mercury species and ecological risk assessment for mercury pollution in aquatic environment

Mercury(Hg) exists in different chemical forms presenting varied toxic potentials. It is necessary to explore an ecological risk assessment method for different mercury species in aquatic environment. The predicted no-effect concentrations(PNECs) for Hg(Ⅱ) and methyl mercury(Me Hg) in the aqueous phase, calculated using the species sensitivity distribution method and the assessment factor method, were 0.39 and 6.5 × 10-3μg/L, respectively. The partition theory of Hg between sediment and aqueous phases was considered, along with PNECs for the aqueous phase to conduct an ecological risk assessment for Hg in the sediment phase. Two case studies, one in China and one in the Western Black Sea, were conducted using these PNECs. The toxicity of mercury is heavily dependent on their forms,and their potential ecological risk should be respectively evaluated on the basis of mercury species.     

Assessing the impact of leather industries on the quality of water discharged into the East China Sea from Wenzhou Watersheds

Ammonium nitrogen and total germanium are among the main pollutants in the wastewater discharged from the leather industry. The intake of high concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and/or total germanium harms human health and biological species, as is well documented in literature. This paper focuses on assessing the trends of ammonium nitrogen and total germanium concentrations through time in two watersheds (Aojiang and Oujiang) in the Wenzhou metropolitan area of Zhejiang Province and their relationships with the released wastewater using regression and correlation statistics. The paper also utilizes the integrated pollution index to evaluate water quality in the two watersheds. Preliminary results show that, from 1992 to 1998 in the Aojing watershed, the concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and total germanium increased 13 and 14 times, respectively, decreasing somewhat after 1998, while between 1992 and 1997 in the Oujiang watershed, the concentrations increased, then decreased after 1997. The concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and total germanium are positively related to the amount of released wastewater. The concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and total germanium exceeded water standards 12 and 3 times, respectively, in Pingyang county of the Aojiang watershed, 14 and 3.3 times in Lucheng District of the Oujiang watershed, and 14 and 3.8 times in the Ouhai Oujiang watershed, respectively. In Pingyang county of the Aojiang watershed, the water quality degraded from Type III in 1992 to over Type V in 2003, and in the Oujiang watershed, the water quality degraded from Type II to over Type IV in 1999, when they were compared with the water quality standards. The water quality slightly improved in 2003 for the Oujiang watershed. It appears that pollution did have a direct positive correlation with leather industry production in the Pingyang Aojing watershed, while there was a negative correlation between the two in the Oujiang watershed. In these two watersheds, the integrated pollution index did not appear to relate to population dynamics and agricultural production. This paper also discusses the current new methodologies and approaches adopted nationally and internationally to reduce the contaminants and purify the environment for maintaining a sustainable and healthier environment in Wenzhou.     

沿海滩涂生态型围垦指标体系研究

随着近几年滩涂围垦工程的进行,为了协调围垦开发与生态环境保护之间的矛盾,生态型围垦的理念应运而生。本文对"生态型围垦"的内涵进行了深入辨析,提出了沿海滩涂生态型围垦概念模型,针对围垦工程规划前期、工程实施和运行管理3个阶段的特点,从管理、环境和生态3个方面提出相应指标,初步构架了生态型围垦指标体系,为沿海滩涂围垦的可持续及匡围区域生态环境管理提供技术支撑。     

A review of Australian approaches for monitoring,assessing and reporting estuarine condition: III. Evaluation against international best practice and recommendations for the future

In this final component of a three-part review, we present a national synthesis and evaluation of approaches for monitoring, assessing and reporting estuarine condition across Australia. Progress is evaluated against objective criteria that together provide a model of international best practice. We critically assess the limitations, inconsistencies and gaps that are evident across Australian jurisdictions, and identify common obstacles to future progress. Major strengths and successes are also highlighted, together with specific examples of best practice from around Australia that are transferable to other States and beyond. Significant obstacles to greater national coordination of monitoring and reporting practices include inconsistent spatial scales of management, pluralistic governance structures and the lack of any overarching legislation. Nonetheless, many perceptible advances have been made over the last decade across Australia in estuarine monitoring and health assessment, and there is great potential for further progress. Finally, we provide a list of recommendations to address some of the most pressing limitations and gaps, and support improved future monitoring, assessment and reporting for Australian estuaries.     

Climate change and transdisciplinary science: Problematizing the integration imperative

In this article we critically examine the ‘integration imperative’ in transdisciplinary environmental science and build on social constructivist and political theories to suggest alternative approaches of knowledge co-production in transdisciplinary settings. Our argument builds upon a body of literature in social studies of science to cull insights about knowledge co-production, social learning, and the ecology of team science, particularly as it relates to climate change adaptation. Couched in this transdisciplinary literature, we demonstrate, is the assumption that integration necessarily can and should be a regulative ideal. We critique this assumption by examining the ‘messy’ politics of achieving consensus among radically different, and sometimes irreconcilable, ways of knowing. We argue that the integration imperative conceals the friction, antagonism, and power inherent in knowledge co-production, which in turn can exclude innovative and experimental ways of understanding and adapting to climate change. By way of conclusion, the final section explores three alternative models of knowledge co-production – triangulation, the multiple evidence-based approach, and scenario building – and illustrates their application in the context of transdisciplinary research in climate change adaptation in the arctic, focusing on alternative means of cross-boundary engagement with indigenous ways of knowing.     

Use of watershed characteristics to select control streams for estimating effects of metal mining wastes on extensively disturbed streams

Impacts of sediments and heavy metals on the biota of streams in the copper-mining district of southwestern Montana were examined by comparing aquatic communities of impacted streams with those of control streams. Control streams were chosen through the use of a technique that identifies similar streams based on similarities in their watershed characteristics. Significant differences between impacted and control sites existed for surface substrate, riparian vegetation, and the number of macroinvertebrate taxa. These results revealed that: (a) chemical and physical habitats at the impacted sites were disrupted, (b) the presence of trout was an inadequate measure of ecological integrity for these sites, and (c) watershed classification based on a combination of mapped terrestrial characteristics provided a reasonable method to select control sites where potential control sites upstream and downstream were unsuitable.     

陕晋蒙三角区自然环境面临的主要灾害及对策

陕晋蒙三角区是我国未来一个新能源基地,在全国具有重要的地位。本文从该区的特点出发,论述了自然环境的主要灾害及成因,进而提出了减灾的相应措施与建议。     

生态文明与可持续发展关系探讨

本文从生态文明内涵和可持续发展本质出发,对生态文明和可持续发展之关系进行了初步探讨,这对于坚持科学发展观、走可持续发展道路,提高生态文明和尊重自然的认识,建设和谐社会,促进生态文明建设具有重要意义。     

调水工程生态补偿的分阶段推进战略

水质安全是调水工程顺利实施的关键,为此调水区背负巨大的调水工程的外部经济成本和社会发展代价,必须通过生态补偿政策进行内部化,然而调水工程涉及的范围广、时间长、利益主体多、资金投入大,难以通过一种手段或者现有某种方式建立长效的生态补偿机制。文章从调水工程生态补偿政策建立的目标、标准、责任分担与利益共享、补偿方式角度分析了生态补偿现状及存在的问题,提出了调水工程生态补偿的分阶段推进战略总体思路与实施构想,重点分析了各阶段生态补偿政策的制定标准和要求,为中线调水工程生态补偿政策制定提供了技术支持。     

Temporal variability of visibility and its parameterizations in Ningbo, China

Simultaneous and continuous measurements of visibility, meteorological parameters and air pollutants were carried out at a suburban site in Ningbo from June 1, 2013 to May 31,2015. The characteristics of visibility and their relationships with air pollutants and meteorological factors were investigated using multiple statistical methods. Daily visibility ranged from 0.6 to 34.1 km, with a mean value of 11.8 km. During the 2-year experiment,43.4% of daily visibility was found to be less than 10.0 km and only 9.2% was greater than 20.0 km. Visibility was lower in winter with a frequency of 53.4% in the range of 0.0–5.0 km.Annual visibility had an obvious diurnal variation, with the lowest and highest visibility being 7.5 km at approximately 06:00 local time and 15.6 km at approximately 14:00 local time, respectively. Multiple correspondence analysis(MCA) indicated that the different ranges of visibility were significantly affected by different levels of pollutants and meteorological conditions. Based on the analyses, visibility was found to be an exponential function of PM_(2.5) concentrations within a certain range of relative humidity. Thus, nonlinear models combining multiple linear regressions with exponential regression were subsequently developed using the data collected from June 2014 to May 2015, and the data from June 2013 to May 2014 was used to evaluate the performance of the model. It was demonstrated that the derived models can quantitatively describe the relationships between visibility, air quality and meteorological parameters in Ningbo.